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Powell Rejects Abu Ala's "One-State" Idea

(State Department) Secretary of State Colin Powell said at a press conference Thursday: Question: The Palestinian Prime Minister said in an interview that if the Sharon government goes forward with some of the ideas that were outlined in Prime Minister Sharon's December 18th speech, that the Palestinians would effectively abandon the idea of a two-state solution and demand full rights with the Israelis in a single state. I wonder if you think this idea of a single state has any sort of viability? Powell: No, we're committed to a two-state solution. I believe that's the only solution that'll work: a state for the Palestinian people called Palestine; and a Jewish state, the state of Israel, which exists. And what we have to do is get to a table where we can negotiate the terms of existence. What we need right now is for the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority to get control of security forces and to use those forces and use the other tools available to him to put down terror and to put down violence. And if that happens and we see that kind of commitment, then I am confident that we can move forward on the roadmap. Mr. Sharon begins all of his discussions by saying he would like to see a solution; he is looking for reliable partners he can work with. And his plans that he has spent some time presenting recently suggest what he feels he might have to do if he doesn't have a reliable partner. What we are trying to do is to get that reliable partner to stand up and start acting.
2004-01-09 00:00:00
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